US jazz pianist Keith Jarrett
has been given the Venice Biennale Golden Lion for career
achievement.
The American pianist and composer will receive the award at
the 62nd Biennale Festival of Contemporary Music on September
29.
The Silver Lion goes to French-Argentinian musician Sebastian
Rivas, among he most original artists of his generation.
The awards were announced Tuesday by the Bienalle Foundation
board under President Paolo Baratta.
Jarrett's citation said:
"An absolute musician, beloved by the public - with over four
million recordings of the Köln Concert, considered his seminal
work, sold around the world - Keith Jarrett will be awarded the
Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 62nd International
Festival of Contemporary Music of the Biennale di Venezia on
September 29th.
"For this occasion, Keith Jarrett will perform one of his
legendary improvisations on the piano, unique and unrepeatable
events that have punctuated his career and contributed to
redefining composition for the piano.
"Unanimously acclaimed as one of the most important pianists
in the area of improvisation and jazz music - reads the
motivation - Keith Jarrett is an artist who has experimented
with extraordinary talent and creativity in various musical
genres including classical music, composing scores that are both
refined and blistering at the same time.
"His endless discography bears witness to a boundless art and
a unique personality in the field of jazz, with an approach and
signature style that are so personal as to make him a universal
master in the history of music".
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